A new study says death rates attributed to heart disease and heart attacks have plummeted in recent decades.
Over the past 50 years, overall heart disease deaths have fallen by 66%. Even more impressively, deaths from heart attacks have decreased by nearly 90%, according to a new study.
“Over the past 50 years, our understanding of heart disease, what causes it and how we treat it has evolved considerably. That’s especially true in how we address acute cardiac events that may appear to come on suddenly,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Sara King.
The increased use of bystander CPR and defibrillators, coupled with a better understanding of early recognition of cardiac issues, have all contributed to increased survival rates among events “once considered a death sentence,” said King.
However, it is not all positive news. Deaths from certain types of heart disease, like arrhythmia, hypertensive heart disease, and heart failure, have actually increased by over 80% in the United States. Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, notes that putting both sets of figures into perspective is crucial.
“These days, the likelihood of dying from a heart attack is relatively low compared to where it’s been, but the likelihood of significant disability from the heart attack is still high,” said Freeman, per CNN.
“It’s one thing to be alive, it’s another to be alive and well,” he said.
Earlier this year, The Dallas Express reported on a previous study from the AHA that showed heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. In 2022 alone, 941,652 Americans succumbed to the disease, 10,000 more than the year prior.
That works out to roughly 2,500 deaths each day in the United States, or one every 34 seconds.